


Mad City

by tens_wig



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Gang NCT, NCT 2018, OT21 (NCT)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 14:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tens_wig/pseuds/tens_wig
Summary: "Stay where you are." The words weren't threatening, but sharp and biting nonetheless. Haechan scoffed, but chose not to reply. The leader had pulled him aside earlier, repeated the same set of instructions twice, and made sure his orders were perfectly clear before they had left for the hospital. And although Haechan had nodded along as if he had understood, both knew well that the elder's orders would never be followed through.by admin wu and admin xian





	Mad City

_10:53 PM_  
_37.5665° N, 126.9780° E_

Twilight was slowly fading to night. The last streaks of dull orange and red disappeared from the horizon and shadows blackened, sweeping the old city into darkness.

"Shit."

Haechan leaned against the metal railing of the fire escape. The fog was bad at this height, shrouding Seoul in murky gray. The ground was barely visible, save the newly-painted road markings that glowed bright yellow beneath the streetlights. He drummed his fingers against the banister, and the rusty structure trembled beneath his touch. Metal grated against metal, soft enough that the sound couldn't reach further than his ears. Taeyong would've killed him for this.

 _Thank god he's not here._ The boy shuddered a bit, but it wasn't because of the cold wind that tore at his black jacket and tangled his hair, or the eeriness of being out here alone. His eyes swept the street again, looking for anything suspicious, anything that would give him an excuse to climb down and join the others.

"Your place is on that fire escape and nowhere else. Call for one of us if you see anything, and don't move unless I tell you to." The leader had pulled him aside earlier, repeated the same set of instructions twice, and made sure his orders were perfectly clear before they had left for the hospital. And although Haechan had nodded along as if he had understood, both knew well that the elder's orders would never be followed through.

Haechan sighed. He pulled a walkie talkie from his jacket pocket and stared at it in his hand. He had hoped to get an earpiece by now. Even the younger kids got those from Taeyong. But not Haechan. All he got was an old walkie that sputtered with static because Taeyong didn't trust him enough. And half of the time, the directions produced from the ancient device weren't even meant for him.

_I hope Yuta'll call in soon. I'm bored._

"Mark, talk to me," Taeyong said through the walkie talkie.

_Not him, damn it._

Then came a long buzz of white noise. Haechan tensed. He cocked the pistol in his hands. But finally, Mark replied, "Got past the firewall and found the admin passwords." Haechan slowly lowered the gun. "I can shut down the entire security system and no one will know."

"Good. How long can you keep the cameras off?"

Mark paused. "Thirty minutes, at most."

"And the doors?"

"Twenty."

"Damn it," Haechan muttered into the walkie, spinning the gun on his finger. The edge in his voice grew increasingly sharp. "We planned this for forty minutes. There's no time, so you might as well send me in, and I'll deal with things in ten."

"We don't have the time for those kind of risks either, Haechan," Taeyong countered. His cold tone made Haechan scowl beneath his mask. "What about the alarms?"

"I-I can't get to them. They aren't connected to the main system. They'll go off if someone pulls one. If th-they do go off... I can silence them, but it'll take a few minutes."

"No matter. As long as no one fires, we shouldn't attract any attention," Taeyong replied after a moment of silence. "Get the doors open. We'll have to move quickly."

They both heard the clicking of buttons and then a sharp buzz. "System's down," Mark breathed. "Be quick."

Taeyong mumbled a quick acknowledgement and thanks before speaking again. "And Haechan?"

The teenager had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he replied, "Yes?'

"Stay where you are." The words weren't threatening, but sharp and biting nonetheless. He scoffed, but chose not to reply.

The walkie buzzed for a few seconds before shutting off and leaving Haechan in silence. "Damn bastard."  
He peered at the building across the street—one of the last buildings still standing on this block. It had to be at least three times bigger than the warehouse he was stationed at, built six stories high. Along the right side of the monstrous building, shadows shifted as a small group of figures slipped through an open door. Yuta was somewhere on the other side, stationed on a rooftop with his sniper rifle and Mark was in the control room, tampering with the security system. At any point they could call in Sicheng and Jeno, who were parked a few blocks away.

It had been months since they attempted something so risky. According to Jaemin, the building was under heavy surveillance at all times, and the security system was hard to take control of, much less break into. It'd taken days of detailed research, planning and revising to finalize a plan that Haechan knew could very well fail.

Haechan was on look out for Mark, he remembered from the briefing he had half-slept through. He focused his lazy gaze towards the window right across from him.

Suddenly, he froze. _There's someone right outside of the control room where Mark is._

Haechan jumped to attention and leaned as far off the railing as he possibly could to observe the person. He squinted, and immediately scowled. It was clearly a security guard, evident from the uniform the man wore. His belt hung heavy with weird weapons Haechan had never seen before. Pitch-black shades hid his eyes, rendering his expression unreadable. Haechan felt on-edge just by looking at him.

Slowly, he raised the walkie to his mouth, but not before switching off the safety of his gun. "Guys," he said, "there's someone right outside of the control room right now. Like, right outside Mark's door."

"Well shit," came a reply from Ten.

"Wait, what?" Mark piped shakily. "W-who? Uh, why? Wh-what do I do?"

"It's a security guard," Haechan went on. "Freakishly tall and buff as hell. Probably showed up 'cause he noticed all the unlocked doors."

"Mark, did you lock the door to the control room?" Ten asked hastily.

"Y-yeah," Mark replied shakily, in a whisper. "Shoot, you guys only have twenty-four minutes. Ju-just go... d-don't worry about the guard." A clicking sound came from the walkie, and Haechan rolled his eyes. Mark was biting his nails again. It was a bad habit the boy had, which he did whenever he was nervous.

Taeyong abruptly cut in, "I'll deal with him. Haechan, you stay where you are. Ten, take the others to the second floor storage. Kun said it'll be there, so head that way." Ten quickly obeyed and went quiet. But Haechan had no thoughts of listening to Taeyong's commands.

He stared at the guard, who was now reaching for the door handle. His mind was racing. In all of Taeyong's plans, there was often a miniscule flaw—a small, loose thread in a piece of cloth that could potentially unravel and pull everything apart. Mark couldn't possibly keep the facility doors open for so long without attracting attention. There was no way they were getting out without killing at least half of the security team. "You don't have time!" Haechan muttered. "That bastard's going for the door. Someone's gotta go and get Mark the fuck outta there. I can—"

"No," Taeyong snapped, with noticeably more force. "You will not shoot him. You'll set off all the alarms in the building, and the plan will be ruined."

"Then what do you want me to do, watch Mark get fucking killed?" Haechan gripped his pistol tightly. The guard was fumbling with the handle and slamming his huge fist against the door. "He's trying to break in!"

"Mark will be fine on his own, and we'll have his back."

"y-you know I can hear you guys, right? Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Mark said, faking a chuckle. "Haechan, I-I'll be fine, so don't worry about me. And T-Taeyong, there's only twenty-two minutes left before the cameras go back on." Even through the static of the walkie and rough winds, Haechan could hear the fear in Mark's seemingly brave words.

"All he has is a fucking knife, Taeyong!" Haechan snapped. "Against a six-foot giant who's buffer than you'll ever be!"

"I said, hold your fire!"

Haechan wanted so desperately to shut the walkie off. He knew Taeyong couldn't get to Mark fast enough. Taeyong was just being stubborn. He'd rather see his ally die than let his plan fail. And that god-damned guard... Mark could barely hold a knife without shaking. How was he supposed to protect himself?  
The guard was now ramming his side against the door, and his moving lips implied he was yelling. Mark was panting over the walkie, as if he could barely breathe. He continued to bite his nails, but more vigorously. He wasn't just scared, he was terrified.

Haechan couldn't take it anymore. Fuck it, he thought. "Mark doesn't stand a chance. I'm taking the guard out." He set the walkie down and lifted the gun to point at the guard's head.

"What?" Taeyong yelled, the static roaring louder than ever. "No, Haechan. Don't shoot. I repeat, do. Not. Shoot."

 _Take a deep breath, and close one eye,_ Haechan recalled. He inhaled deeply, closed one eye, and perfected his aim. Relax. _Just remember that, and you'll be shooting fine._

"Haechan, listen to me," came Taeyong's voice from the abandoned walkie, "Put the gun down now, damn it!"

"H-Haechan," Mark stammered in fear, "th-the alarms... It's too risky!"

Haechan exhaled. "Just do as Johnny taught you," he muttered to himself.

"Don't shoot!"

He pulled the trigger.

The ear-shattering bang drowned out the rest of Taeyong's words. The bullet barrelled through the window, causing it to explode into a million shards of glass. It then sank deeply into the back of the man's head. He didn't even stumble before dropping to the floor limply. Blood pooled in a crimson puddle around his unmoving body. The man was dead. Haechan killed him.

 _Shit,_ he thought. He was much more comfortable with a knife. A knife was almost always accurate, while a gun was not. It was his first time shooting a gun since Johnny taught him three years ago; his fourth ever shot, to be exact—and he had used it to kill someone. It all happened so quickly, but Haechan felt like it took hours for the bullet to even reach the window. His mind couldn't process any emotion from his jumbled feelings.

But somehow, Haechan didn't feel any fear or discomfort of any kind. It was almost, for lack of a better term, refreshing for him. Pleasing, even. Haechan's arm casually dropped to his side, the pistol dancing between his fingers. A smile formed on his hidden lips. The once brisk winds grew calm around him.

The shriek of an alarm reached Haechan's ears. His smile instantly disappeared when Taeyong's cold voice reached his ears.

"Lee, I'm gonna fucking kill you."

**Author's Note:**

> lmao we still don't know if we're even gonna finish this story, so don't expect updates,,, if at all.  
> \- admin wu and admin xian


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